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Thursday, December 01, 2011

Guest Post: eBook Vs Books Smackdown w/ Shelli Wells

Hey y'all!! I am here today with the author Shelli Wells! Please give her a warm welcome! *Applause* She is doing a book tour for her brand spanking new book Untraceable! When I say brand spanking new, I mean like three days old!! :) For you today we have a guest post about eBooks vs. Books! I hope you enjoy it! I certanitly did!

eBooks vs. Books Smack Down

Which do you prefer? Ebooks or Books.

I prefer books. There is nothing like curling up in bed with my book and reading into the wee hours when it is quiet and dark.

To me – ereaders are equivalent to Edward. They look nice but are they really cozy. To me they are kinda hard and cold. Books are something you can snuggle up with. I do read eBooks on my iPad. But mostly I use my iPad for beta reads, early manuscripts, or indie pubbed books.

Do you think that paper books will go extinct because of eBooks?

Gosh I hope not. I can’t imagine not having a bookstore to roam around in. I can’t imagine everything being electronic. Being forced to read online instead of holding a book. I do not want a world like Fahrenheit 451 where there are no books or where they are censored. If they are online – they are easily controlled.

But I am a little worried that teens who love ereaders will grow up and stay with ereaders because they have never experienced a real book. That people who are now in their 30, 40s and 50s – who love books - wont be the majority buyer. And eBooks will take the lead.

I hope not.

Do you feel you could be more successful with the eBook market or the regular market?

I have no clue. I think every book is different. I have a paperback and an eBook coming out. But my marketing is more tailored to eBook b/c I am an unknown debut who has indie pubbed. The odds are against me. But I like it that way J

How much more do you make from the eBook market than selling your books in bookstores?

Right now – on my $3.99 eBook, I will make 70% (about $2.75). On my $9.99 paperback, I will make $1.50. I think that is a little more than the traditional author but then again - I don’t have their distribution or marketing guns.

My goal is to sell 1,000 to break even and “earn out” what I put in.

How is the digital publishing changing?

I think eBook sales are increasing every day, which means books are changing, distribution is changing, and marketing is changing. I think traditional publishers are moving too slow to adapt and I worry they won’t be able to adapt. Eventually, if they don’t raise eBook royalties, I could see authors holding onto their digital rights and doing them on their own.

How is your marketing different for paperbacks vs. eBooks?

Well, I am not depending on many brick and mortar stores on the paperback. IT is available and I hope it gets buss so they will order it off my ISBN but I’m targeting eBookers more.

This means, I am doing a grass roots campaign to online readers. In a way this is cheaper but in a way it’s like finding a needle in a haystack and its contacting one person at a time to hopefully start a word of mouth.

I am not using traditional channels; I am seeking out new channels online to reach ereading teens directly.

About the author: Goodreads.com Bio!

When Shelli was younger, she spent all her time outdoors, hiking, camping and living the Girl Scout Way.

Somewhere along the way, she got away from nature and earned an MBA in Marketing, kicking off an 18-year marketing career in Corporate America.

Eventually, Shelli traded in her expensive suits, high heels, and corporate lingo for a family, flip-flops, and her love of writing. She started her own marketing & communications business, www.bilaninc.com, where she worked with Spanx, Goody Hair Products, Chick Filet, and the Boys & Girls Club of America.

In addition to juggling nap schedules and client meetings, Shelli focuses on her writing. She is a frequent speaker on marketing and book publicity at SCBWI conferences across the U.S, and runs a popular book marketing blog, Market My Words (www.faeriality.blogspot.com).

In her spare time (yeah right!) and if the kids allow (yeah right!), Shelli obsesses over movies, reads children’s books (over and over), and still dreams of sleeping in on the weekends. But most importantly, she is finally getting back to her roots by running her own Girl Scout Troop in Atlanta, helping girls get back to nature.

She currently lives in Atlanta with her dog (Charley), British-accented husband, and the huge imaginations of their little prince and princess that someday will change the world.

16 year old Grace was reared in the wilderness. Her first pet was a bear named Simon. Her first potty, an oak tree. And, her first swing, a forest vine. Grace has lived in the Smokies all her life, patrolling with her forest ranger father who taught her everything he knew about wildlife, tracking, and wilderness survival.

When Grace's dad goes missing on a routine patrol, unlike everyone in her sleepy mountain town, she refuses to believe he’s dead. After finding a Cheetos bag and stolen government file, Grace is convinced she’s one step closer to proving all the non-believers wrong.

One day, while out tracking clues, Grace is rescued from imminent danger by Mo, a hot guy who has an intoxicating accent and a secret. Grace has never felt a connection like this before, certainly not with her ex-boyfriend, the adoring, but decidedly unrugged, Wyn.

After a few run-ins with the town's police chief, her father's partner, and some new evidence, Grace travels deeper into the wilderness that has always been her refuge only to learn that her father's disappearance is not a mere coincidence.

Soon she’s enmeshed in a web of conspiracy, deception, and murder. And it’s going to take a lot more than a compass and a motorcycle (named Lucifer) for this kick-butting heroine to emerge from an epidemic that’s spreading like wild fire, threatening everything and everyone she’s ever loved.